With only a few hours left in the 2016 Travel Highlights Competition, I am really pleased to be able to feature this latest entry from Helen Chambers. ​

April in Venice

April in Venice, evening, first-ever visit: as exciting as I’d imagined. Our attic room looked over red-tiled roofs, a bell-tower and home-built roof gardens. When I heard the screaming, I peered outside once more. Boomeranging silhouettes jack-knifed, avoiding collision, swerving amongst chimney pots, agile and graceful despite their raucous voices. Teen-aged gangs of swifts, long before they would arrive in England. Harbingers to summer, and my heart soared with them.

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Helen Chambers usually writes short stories, flash fiction and radio drama, and recently completed her MA in Creative Writing at the University of Essex. She was intrigued to see if she could condense the essence of an entire holiday into fewer than 100 words!